After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Hey football fans Baldy here. I'm doing something special for this year's NFL Draft. Jason Locke and four myself for hosting the 2023 Odyssey NFL Draft show. Join us on the first night of the draft, talking with local experts from our Odyssey podcasts from across the country and leading up to the draft.

Check out our podcast In The Huddle. I'm going to give you some inside scoop on the best prospects for your favorite team. It all starts tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern on the free Odyssey app. Only one Eastern Conference series is still ongoing. So the Boston Celtics have that 3-2 lead over the Atlanta Hawks. They will have their game six coming up on Thursday evening, except they're up against the NFL Draft. This time tomorrow, it'll be all about the NFL Draft and this basketball game, of course, we'll keep our eyes on it.

Got to tell you, though, it's a rough night to be an NBA or NHL playoff series because the NFL will dominate. It's a spring spectacular. It's just one of those events that over the course of the last, say, 10 years, probably 10. I wouldn't go farther back than that because I've been in this business now for, well, the network level since 05. And the draft was not this big when I started. Remember, they expanded it to multiple days. They also made the first round a standalone and a primetime event. So now it's not just, hey, the NFL Draft and the prospects of the future. No, it's a spring spectacle.

It's must-see TV. And during the pandemic, that was only underscored. Remember because Roger Goodell was hosting the draft from his basement?

There was nothing else going on. If I remember correctly, more than 50 million people. In fact, it might have been close to 58 million people tuned in to watch the draft over the course of those three days. I don't think, at least on the national level where we're not specific to football, you know, a lot of times we do heavy football. But I don't think the draft has as much buzz right now as some that we've gotten in the past. But I do know regardless of the buzz going in, Thursday night's primetime event, this first round, which will air on multiple networks, it will be all the rage.

It will be the biggest ratings bonanza of the evening and potentially of the week. That is the power of the NFL. And if you missed my conversation with Joe De Leon of Believe Network, we talked to him just over 24 hours ago, and he has great intel on how the quarterbacks will get selected at the top. And also the knock on CJ Stroud, who himself has heard a lot of the conversation and was responding on Wednesday. So we'll hear from CJ. We've got some Bryce Young in preparation for potentially being the overall number one pick. It certainly does sound like and feel like he's headed for the Panthers. Whereas the value in this draft, a skill position that I think will surprise people as we head through the bulk of the draft, but could start on Thursday evening. So a little bit more on the draft as we get through the second half of the show.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Our podcast, by the way, always posted on Twitter after our CBS and our Facebook page right after the show is done. It cracks me up because people will actually respond to the post that includes the link to our podcast by asking us if we have a podcast. You know that sarcasm is my love language. Sometimes it's snarky and sarcasm that intersect. But I keep it to myself. I zip it. I just reply sweetly and serenely.

Yes, the link is right here. So this time tomorrow we'll be talking more about the draft plus that one NBA game. We'll see if the Celtics can join the Knicks, the Heat and the Sixers who've been waiting for quite a while for this next matchup. Would you say that in the eyes of many fans, the Knicks and Cavaliers, when that season is over now, was a bit of a surprise just because of the Cavaliers star power? They did not play up to their potential. Knicks are much more blue blood and their star is Julius Randle, one of them.

And he barely played in the last couple of games. So we get the Knicks on to the second round. I love the fresh blood.

First time in 10 years. And they're going to take on the Heat, who are an eighth seed that already came through the play-in tournament. Up against or I wouldn't say up against, but. The other half of the Eastern Conference semifinals could likely be Boston and Philadelphia. And that will, of course, attract a ton of eyeballs and ear balls.

A lot of buzz around that one. So Knicks and Heat might be considered the ugly redheaded stepchild of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but one of them is going to survive to the East finals. Why not us, baby? Why not us?

Our vote number is 855-212-4227. Ali is in Miami. He wants to talk about the Heat.

Ali? Aloy, how are you? It's been a little while.

I'm good. Thank you. Glad to hear.

Glad to hear. Yeah, I mean, they're definitely going to be paying attention to the draft. But man, have the Heat took my attention. I really, you know, in the beginning, you know, I was very disappointed where we landed. I didn't believe that, you know, that we could even beat the Bulls and we did that. And then for us to really bite down after the injuries that we faced and to play. I mean, Jimmy Butler is the MVP of the playoffs, but just let it be known.

I mean, the performance he's put up, the coaching that's bolstered is done. We just beat the best team in the NBA, you know, at the end of the day. Everything else is, you know, just going to get easier. We just beat the best team.

I feel like... I don't think it's going to get easier. Well, I mean, when it comes to beating the Knicks, beating the Sixers out of Boston, they're not the best team in the league, right? Right, but that doesn't matter.

I mean, you can't, it's not just in a vacuum. The Heat, they're missing people, right? So they're also going to have a lot of mileage on them. Their starters now are playing heavy minutes. And so they're going to be relying on fewer players. I didn't mean that way.

I didn't mean that way. It's only going to get harder for us because we're playing, you know, missing two great players, O-Depot, Hero. We're going to have to have people step up. It's going to be great, you know, a challenge to us. And the Knicks have really, you know, they beat us, you know, all year.

The matchups are hard. They have two great point guards. They have, you know, a weekly, coming off the bench.

Quickly, yeah. Yeah, and then they have, you know, Brunson. It's going to be something that, it's going to be a coaching battle. And it'll be great to see, you know, a Boston-Heat, you know, rematch in the Eastern Conference. And then, you know, if it's the 76s, I feel like the Heat could do it. But if it's Boston, I'm picking Boston again.

Oh, yeah? Who on the Heat is going to guard Joel Embiid? Are you putting Bam on him?

Well, it's going to be a process, right? All year we've had where it's Bam or it's going to be, you know, even Butler. It's going to be a team effort to guard the big man, right? And we did that even in this series.

When we played big men, because, you know, we're a smaller team, let's admit it. And at the end of the day, the only way we beat big teams is by playing a team effort, zone defense sometimes, and really grinding it out, right? So, yeah, we have to play a team effort.

I can't just say one man is going to cover Embiid. I would say, as much as I do appreciate the defensive tenacity and certainly the fact that the Heat can make really good teams just look abysmal offensively, what stands out about this series is that the Heat, who were one of the worst offensive teams in the league this year, in the league, they're in bottom five when it comes to, actually dead last in scoring offense, in total offense. They are, right now, playing way, way above the level of what we saw from them all year offensively.

So if they can continue that, they've got a fighting chance. The defense is not something I worry about, though Joel Embiid is a load, to be sure. But it's really more, and the Sixers have far more, I would say, really quality scoring options, right? So the Sixers have a Tyrese Maxey who's locked in, and they've got Tobias Harris who's a, I mean, you call him a role player on this team, but he's a legit star in his own right, plus Joel, plus James Harden. The Bucks were not playing, like, they did not show up offensively in this series, really, and that's a credit to Miami. But yeah, I mean, whether you're talking Sixers or Boston, both those teams have far more of a balanced, diverse offensive attack than did the Bucks. You're right. We're going to be going against a diverse team, even with the Knicks.

They're deep, but the one thing I think is the biggest difference is Mr. Jimmy Buckets. You've got to call him Mr. now. Do I? The MVP hit a playoffs. He's going berserk. They've only played five games. You can't call him the MVP yet. Well, no, not yet, but I mean, he's the leading scorer.

Let's just call him the leading scorer of the playoffs, right, per game. But at the end of the day, you know, it takes players like that to make everybody better. And then Coach Spoe, I mean, the level of coaching that he showed, playing with the, you know, undrafted players, you know, Caleb Martin, Gabe Vinson. These players are playing, you know, amazing for Spoe, and that's what it's going to take without Hiro, without, you know, Oladipo. It's going to take our bench, and I have to give it up to even, you know, Kevin Love and then Lowry.

Yeah, good for him. This is something that's going to really show, you know, what Lowry's made of, playing against Brunson in the next series, and Gabe Vinson is going to be our backup. So at the end of the day, it's going to take the entire team to keep playing the way we're playing, resilience, right, that dog mentality, and really not giving up. I mean, we were down, what, 13 the last game, 16 this game, and we never gave up. We played our heart out, and, you know, that's what the HEAT organization is made of. We're players that never give up, and we strive to be great regardless of what we face. I definitely agree that the HEAT, not only do they have a bunch of experience, but they've bred themselves as a team that is going to be aggressive, and that's a large part thanks to Butler.

But also, they're going to force you to play your best basketball. They're hard nosed, they're tough, they're mentally tough, and I will say over and over that Eric Spolster is the most underappreciated coach in the NBA. But the problem is, though, they're so inconsistent, or they were during the regular season.

You never know what you were going to get from them. So right now, they're playing out of their minds offensively. Can they keep it up for two series in a row? Well, again, it's going to take a team effort. It's going to take everyone really playing to the level that Spolster wants them to. And it's going to be where we have to not just say, okay, there's one person that's going to face this great player, right? We're going to always see great players.

We're going to see Embiid, we're going to see Brunson, we're going to see all these great players. It's going to take a team effort to switch, and that's the whole thing about the HEAT. It's not about, oh, who's going to cover this one player?

It's who is not going to cover this one player. It's going to take a team effort, and it's going to be changes and switches that we're going to be making. And that's what I saw against the Bucks, you know, I mean, with Lopez just dominated. And then when Bam fouled out, I liked the way, you know, we had Cody Zeller come in and, you know, it was a battle. And that's what it's going to be about. It's going to be about players stepping up, and, you know, you've got to beat Coach Foe, you know, at the end of the day.

Coach Foe is a mastermind, and I think that's what's going to get us, you know, far into the playoffs. All right, Ali, good to talk to you again. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes there.

Always. Blessings. Steven is in Charlotte. Steven, what do you think about the HEAT? Yes, how you doing? Thank you for taking my call.

Of course. I'm just saying I just real quickly, I want to make it real quick, but I've been watching the Miami Heat this season and I've been seeing Jimmy Butler with the hair changes. I'm like, OK, what is Jimmy Butler doing?

Is he trying to be a fashion model? I'm like, OK, Miami, I don't know where they're going with this, but the season is up and downs. They're getting the play in. I'm like, OK, I don't know. Miami is here.

OK, what are you going to do? But man, when the playoffs hit, Jimmy Butler turned into Michael Jordan. It's funny because he was asked about whether or not playoff Jimmy is a thing, and he's like, it's not a thing. Yeah, but I think it is, man, because when he gets locked in in the playoffs, it's like, it's a different Jimmy Butler. But he's a baller, man. But I think that New York Knicks series is going to be up and down.

They can go either way. But I'm more disappointed in the Milwaukee Bucks because they sit Giannis. Maybe he was injured.

I think he was injured. But they like, OK, we can win without him and then bring him back. OK, we need you.

And it's too late. But Jimmy did his thing. You got to get your hats off to Jimmy Butler and Jimmy Butler is playing out of his mind. I don't want to say he's the best player in the playoffs because I'm a Phoenix Suns fan and Booker is going crazy. But yeah, I got to give my hats off to him.

He's playing good ball. He is. And the fact is, whether or not it's about his hair, maybe he's superstitious. Who knows?

Maybe it just drives him crazy, like my hair does with me sometimes. But he is a clutch player, meaning the bigger the stage, the brighter the lights, the better he plays. Right. But like the New York Knicks series, like I said, they can go either way. But I don't think they can be Philly or Boston. They do like it when you underestimate them, you know? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, I got to watch what I say because I didn't think they were going to be Milwaukee.

But they did. It was a beautiful series. I like the underdogs. That was a good, great performance from Jimmy Butler from last two games. It was great. 98 points. 98 degrees, actually. 98.

Yeah. All right, Stephen. I can't believe it.

I don't believe what I just saw. Thank you so much for your phone call. It's good to talk to you.

All right, thank you. 855-212-4227. 855-212-4CBS coming up later this hour. Drew Maggi not only gets the call up to the majors for the first time in his 13 years as a minor leaguer, but he finally gets in at bat and wait until you hear what he had to say about that moment. A little bit ahead on the NFL draft.

Actually, probably hit that next hour because the first round is Thursday evening. We'll have more from Aaron Rodgers as well. But the big news is that the number one seed and the best record in the NBA is out. One and done for the Milwaukee Bucks. The Memphis Grizzlies, they don't plan on being another upset victim. They fought back against the Los Angeles Lakers, a 26-2 run in what was the end of the third early fourth quarter to really just run the Lakers out of the building. And none other than Desmond Bain, who had 33 points in the game on Wednesday evening, he declares they will be back in their own building for game seven.

So no one of the Grizzlies has learned his lesson about yapping publicly. And also, when you think about the series that's been the most competitive, you think Kings, Warriors, Golden State finally wins on the road. Finally wins on the road in the playoffs. They rattle off three straight wins, series is far from over.

So those are your top storylines. We also had some drama, some drama on the ice. Boston Bruins, best record by far. Not just this season, but in NHL history. And yet the Panthers are not going quietly, plus the Seattle Kraken on the cusp of history.

So a lot that we'll get to. In fact, we'll lace up the skates, or you can, because I look so awkward, like a baby giraffe on skates. But I love the hockey, I'll talk about it. Oh, also the Devils reached out to me and I had to break the news.

I tried to break it gently. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Donate today at your local CSL Plasma Center and be rewarded for your generosity. After Hours Podcast. The Panthers get it done in overtime.

They cash in off the turnover. 4-3 in overtime. That's your final tonight here in Boston. York Strand off the endboard.

Sending it up top. Carson Soucy scores! The Souce is loose in Game 5. 3-1 Seattle with 18-20 to play in the period. Soucy, the shot, gored. The redirection in front. The Kraken ahead by a pair.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On the Florida Panthers Radio Network, they in fact survive in Boston. They win in overtime against the Big Bad Bruins. And yes, get a Game 6 in that series. It certainly looked like the Panthers would be taking the early exit stage left. But in Game 5, they're able to find a way.

I love stories like this. I don't know if they eliminate the Bruins. They're still a long way to go. They're still trailing 3-2. And it still seems like they're staring up at Mount Everest. But you're saying there's a chance.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. As for the Kraken, they're playing with house money, baby. Seattle now has three. Count them. 1-2-3 playoff wins to their franchise name. And the fact that it's coming against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

I think it's icing on top of this cake. But yeah, all the pressure is on Colorado, who has now dropped two of its games at home in this series. Seattle, I think there's always something to be said in sports where the pressure is firmly on the shoulders of your opponent.

And in this case, the Kraken, it doesn't matter what they do in this series. There were no expectations except for internal. And to be able to play with kind of that wild abandon, that freedom, that confidence. And recognizing that the Avalanche are supposed to win the series. They've got the home ice. Not that it's going to be easy by in search of the imagination that the Avalanche are too experienced for that. But when you can go out there and just be happy to even be in this position. And then you grab that game one win.

Okay. Then you win game three and you start to believe. So every step the Kraken take in these playoffs. Then gives them just a little more confidence. It's all a part of building. Right.

It's all a part of laying the foundation. Even got a guy who's scoring in his NHL debut for heaven sakes. That's how you know things are going well for the Seattle Kraken. They get to take the series home on. I think it's Friday. Well, yeah, Wednesday to Friday.

And we know what Seattle sports fans are all about. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. What a time to be alive. Kraken coach Dave Hacksdawl. In the pipes, groups, our whole team this year, we're both next man up. And Karchi steps up. Great job, boys.

Thanks for letting me be a part of this. So you hear mention Karchi. Karchi steps up. That's Ty Karchi, who is filling in for the player that was injured when he took that hit from Kale McCarr. And so because of that, Karchi gets called up. And. Yeah, no, I know, I know.

Thank you, Jay. Karchi gets called up. He scores in his NHL debut. He gets highlighted there in the locker room celebration. And for the Seattle Kraken to also.

Now, this was not a plan or anything. But to be able to face the Avalanche without McCarr because he had a one game suspension for that hit that took out Jared McCann. And this is a guy who was the playoff MVP a year ago in their run to the Stanley Cup. So I love that they're capitalizing on their opportunities.

As for the Bruins, well, they have yet another opportunity to respond to a loss. My goodness. I'd have to go back and look at the number of losses they had this season, but only a handful. Right. Was a dozen. I think it was a dozen.

That's it. Well, now they've got two losses in the same series. This is not supposed to happen to the big bad Bruins. But Jim Montgomery is confident in his club. I'm sure we're going to come back with a real good, determined effort. I mean, this I have a lot of confidence in our team.

I have a lot of confidence in that group. From the first player through the 23rd, 24th player that's with us right now. If you're watching late in the game, I'm trying to remember exactly how much time was left, but Brad Marshand had a one on one against Sergei Bobrovsky of the Panthers, the Panthers goalie. And it's at that point, it's a 3-3 tie. If he scores, obviously, that's it.

Florida's season is done. So a couple of seconds left, maybe. And it was really funny. I don't know if we have the audio. We get it at some point.

It doesn't really matter. I'll just give you the quote. The Panthers coach, Paul Maurice, he said, I knew it wasn't going in. It was one on one with Marshand and Sergei. And then he says, nah, I'm full of it when I just said that to you.

Oh, goodness. I mean, this really is a David versus Goliath scenario. And yet I was just saying the same thing with Seattle and Colorado. Now, Colorado, because they're defending champion, have so much experience because they've got the home ice.

And because Seattle's got none of that, all the pressure is on one side. Well, isn't that the same with the Bruins? They set a record, a new NHL record for wins and points in the season. They're the president's trophy winners.

But they exceeded that. No way can they go out in the first round. Honestly, as much as we just saw the best record in the NBA get eliminated in the first round, for the Bruins to lose to the Panthers would be a far more monumental shock. The Bruins barely lost all season. And so the fact that the Panthers can go into an atmosphere in Boston where they are entitled, they're entitled to their championships, where the expectation is Stanley Cup or bust, the Panthers have nothing to lose.

And that's the whole idea. Babrowski, by the way, stopped 44 shots, including the one that Brad Marchand sent his way with time running out in the third period. Matthew Kuchuk won it a few minutes in. Still, Bruins have the advantage. I still believe they'll win the series, but feeling a little more pressure than they were to start.

That's for sure. All right, coming up, the story of Drew Maggi just got better. Oh, do we want to hear about Matthew? We want to hear from Matthew Kuchuk. OK, we're even getting the audio now as we're on the air. Sure, you scored a game-winning goal on the road in Boston in sudden death. We deserve to hear from you. Swaggy was able to put pressure on it, force turnover.

I was able to hop out there fast with Duke changing and just a little bit of pinball and somehow got right on my stick and made sure to put it home. I think it comes down to we just don't want our season to end. So now they're coming down to Florida and we know that there can't possibly be a Game 7 in their mind right now and everybody here in Boston's mind. So it's just up to us to see you guys back here in a few days.

Yeah, how about that? He kind of underscores what I'm saying. They can't possibly fathom that this series would go to a Game 7. This is the Bruins. There's no way. It should have been over by now and I think he's being a little bit tongue in cheek. No way should there be a Game 7. But we just don't want to be done. And that's again the element, the contrast between a team with all of the expectations and all the pressure on its shoulders. And maybe there wasn't pressure to start the series. The Bruins aren't the best team in the league, but they're the best team in NHL history. So maybe there wasn't pressure to start.

But there is now. Because now they do have home ice. But how often do we say in a Game 7 anything can happen? It's just one of the great things about sport is kind of that pressure meter and how often the team that's got essentially nothing to play for, no expectations, they can use that and they can play in a way that is freer. And the deeper they get, the more they push the pressure or add to the pressure that's on the favorite.

It's a lot of fun this time of the year. So much of it comes down to who performs in the moment, right? And that's just not something that you can measure with analytics or with formulas.

Sometimes it's about who doesn't. I mean, think about Giannis. A couple years ago when they won the championship in Milwaukee, he hit his free throws. Brutal to watch tonight, 10 of 23 from the charity stripe. This is the biggest stage in sports. Hoops, hockey, NFL, baseball, the playoffs. Heart, soul, all in. And then there's the other intangible qualities like chemistry, like your confidence, but also your connectivity with your teammates. Isn't that what keeps the Warriors going? They know exactly what they have to do to win. But that core, Steph, Klay, Draymond, they just know each other so well. We're seeing a lot of these elements come into play now. And it's only the first round. All right, you can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Oh, we mentioned Drew Vagge. So, yes, the story just got even better for the 13-year minor leaguer who is seeing his dreams come true. We get to be along for the ride.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. . We have a bride the chance for her heart to skip a beat on her wedding day. Every plasma donation helps more than you know. Do the amazing. Help save lives. Donate today at your local CSL Plasma Center.

And be rewarded for your generosity. Standing ovation. Drew Vagge will pinch hit for Andrew McCutcheon, making his major league debut. They're all standing. Mike Nelson, the home plate umpire, taking a little extra time out in front of the dirt circle to slowly write the name down on his lineup card. What an ovation. What a moment here at PMC Park. His family in the stands, his mom shedding tears.

They made the flight from Arizona. Drew Vagge. And Vagge chants. One ball, two strikes. Swing and a miss. The strikeout in the dirt. The catcher will throw to first to complete the strikeout. Drew Vagge will get a standing ovation on his way back to the third base dugout.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On the Pirates Radio Network. Standing ovation for a strikeout, but not just any strikeout. A major league debut more than 13 years in the making. Man, this is my favorite story of the baseball season to date.

And it's going to take one heck of another storyline to top it. Congratulations to Drew Vagge for this dream come true. And yes, it was a strikeout.

But in that moment, who cares? 33-year-old who played 1,155 minor league games across 13 seasons before he was called up by the Pirates earlier this week. And we heard from him about what it was like to walk into the locker room, the clubhouse, what it was like to be in the dugout. He didn't get into that game. But he did get a chance to pinch hit in the eighth inning of a victory.

Pirates over Dodgers. One out. Gets a standing ovation from his teammates.

How about that? Standing ovation from his own teammates and the crowd that was remaining. He actually was able to connect on the first pitch, pulled it foul. Got a pitch clock violation.

Might as well run the gamut. Might as well take it all in while you're at the plate for your first ever big league AB. So yes, pitch clock violation. Another foul. Takes a ball. And then strikes out. But what Maggi said after the fact is, it's the best strikeout I ever had. This makes me so happy I could cry.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, Drew Maggi speaking to the Pirates social media team afterwards about his big league debut. I mean, I really can't. I can't explain how I was feeling in the box. I didn't even know what to do. You guys were cheering me on.

I don't know. I never expected that. And through the journey, I thought I'd make my debut.

It'd be normal at bat. Obviously special. But the crowd sharing my name. I got my parents here. My three brothers. Sister back at home. I mean, this is unbelievable.

Thank you, everybody. He had been called up by the Minnesota Twins for a couple of days in 2019, but he never appeared in a game. So this was his opportunity to actually get into a game. And his parents. His siblings. He saw his dad crying, he said.

I don't think I ever saw him cry before. All those years, I wondered what I would say to my parents at that moment ever were to come. This might be my favorite part. And gosh, what a life lesson. I know the last 13 years have not been wasted.

Amazing. But what about the emotions? What about standing there in the batter's box in your first major league at bat? Just try to have a good at bat. I mean, they told me to get ready in the dugout. Then my heart started pumping. And I was like, this is it.

This is the moment. Take a deep breath. Really try to slow everything down. And then once I got up to the plate, it was just, let's go. I was like, here comes the heater. Get on the fastball. It was something that I've been waiting for so long for.

I'm just happy with everything. Including a strikeout. Again, who cares?

He actually made contact with multiple pitches, took a ball, got a pitch clock violation. Way to jump in with both feet, Drew Madji. And what about to all those other people out there who are seeing your story, who are hanging on, believing that their dreams are not dead yet. This took 13 plus years.

So 13 years in the minors, not to mention the time that he spent preparing for his minor league career, for a career in baseball. So you got to use this platform now to send a message to others who are believing. Just that anything's possible. Never give up, no matter what you're doing. If you love something, go for it. This is special to me. I'll never forget this whole experience. I didn't expect it, but this is, don't give up. There's another quote from Madji that I love, love, love. I love baseball is what he said. I was grinding for 13 years, but I was doing what I loved. Just kind of getting here. My name is in history.

How about that? He did have a chance to see his family members yelling at him. I love you.

We're proud of you. The fact that he can say it was all worth it is the best part. Could you imagine if he got up to the big leagues after 13 years and it wasn't what he thought it was going to be? Or he felt like all the time he had poured into it, all the effort, all the years, all the disappointment, how many times he thought he might have a chance to get called up and didn't, or when he was with the Twins and didn't actually get into a game.

And yet he can say, despite all the disappointment, despite all the time and the effort that he poured into it, a lot of hours, countless hours spent on buses. Don't know what he does in the off season, but most minor league careers do not pay much more than an average blue collar job. Now he does nearly have a thousand hits in the minors, but that's not the goal.

I saw this stat too, which I think is just kind of fun, worth repeating, well stat, it's a number. Wednesday, as he makes his major league debut, 12 years, 10 months, 18 days since he was drafted. Oh my gosh. And he never gave up. Again, he loved baseball. He had great support, clearly not worried about the money he makes or how he might have to keep going and never have this dream to show for it. But this made it all worth it. He actually said, I know the last 13 years have not been wasted. Oh gosh, what an encouragement. What an inspiration, even though he struck out, makes his major league debut at 33 and said it was all worth it. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS 4tradio. Visit our local CSL plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity.